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Lots of people are correctly suggesting this could function just as equally well as a PWA, but I will point out that (all things being equal) there are some val

Lots of people are correctly suggesting this could function just as equally well as a PWA, but I will point out that (all things being equal) there are some valid use-cases when strictly choosing between Electron vs PWA that a LOT OF PEOPLE seem to be oblivious of: - Electron apps don’t rely on a web server to function, so as long as you archive the app’s installer, you can install it on future computers even if the original website goes down. This assumes that the PWA/Electron App in question doesn't need server features, for example Photopea, Obsidian, etc. - A bit easier to block network traffic to/from a dedicated application from a privacy perspective. Still can be done on a PWA, but it's trickier to set up.

entropicdrifter 2y ago
I mean, re: point 1, we're talking about an app that calls an API for every interaction already, so that doesn't seem super relevant. If Claude is down, you can't use it whether it's through a PWA or an Electron app.
- vunderba 2y ago
  > "Lots of people are correctly suggesting this could function just as equally well as a PWA, but I will point out that (all things being equal) there are SOME VALID USE-CASES" YES - I am speaking GENERALLY. That's why I literally called that out in my comment that this particular use-case (Claude Desktop) could easily be done with a PWA.
  - entropicdrifter 2y ago
    Gotcha. Sorry, I guess that was unclear to me based on your phrasing. When you said "some valid use-cases", I thought perhaps you meant (for this app) and not (for Electron apps in general) as the implied next clause.
    - vunderba 2y ago
      No worries, yeah I just meant that if a dev has no intention of building a native app and is only deciding between either a PWA or an Electron/Tauri App, then there are some advantages to the latter.
      - entropicdrifter 2y ago
        I'd say for the case of Tauri it's doubly so. You can have natively compiled Rust code for especially compute-intensive functions, rather than having it running via WASM.
- lostmsu 2y ago
  If you could access chats offline, that'd be useful. But you should be able to do that with PWA.
pjmlp 2y ago
Apparently running a daemon with the system browser has gone out of fashion, or a skill lost in modern times. Not to mention the whole calling into a server anyway.
- vunderba 2y ago
  It would be nice to see a de-coupling of the backend (as a service, deamon, etc.) so that we could choose the desired frontend of our choice (net win from a UI/UX, accessibility perspective, etc.), but it's been a long time since I've encountered a consumer level application that did this.

entropicdrifter 2y ago

I mean, re: point 1, we're talking about an app that calls an API for every interaction already, so that doesn't seem super relevant. If Claude is down, you can't use it whether it's through a PWA or an Electron app.

vunderba 2y ago
> "Lots of people are correctly suggesting this could function just as equally well as a PWA, but I will point out that (all things being equal) there are SOME VALID USE-CASES" YES - I am speaking GENERALLY. That's why I literally called that out in my comment that this particular use-case (Claude Desktop) could easily be done with a PWA.
- entropicdrifter 2y ago
  Gotcha. Sorry, I guess that was unclear to me based on your phrasing. When you said "some valid use-cases", I thought perhaps you meant (for this app) and not (for Electron apps in general) as the implied next clause.
  - vunderba 2y ago
    No worries, yeah I just meant that if a dev has no intention of building a native app and is only deciding between either a PWA or an Electron/Tauri App, then there are some advantages to the latter.
    - entropicdrifter 2y ago
      I'd say for the case of Tauri it's doubly so. You can have natively compiled Rust code for especially compute-intensive functions, rather than having it running via WASM.
lostmsu 2y ago
If you could access chats offline, that'd be useful. But you should be able to do that with PWA.

pjmlp 2y ago

Apparently running a daemon with the system browser has gone out of fashion, or a skill lost in modern times. Not to mention the whole calling into a server anyway.

vunderba 2y ago
It would be nice to see a de-coupling of the backend (as a service, deamon, etc.) so that we could choose the desired frontend of our choice (net win from a UI/UX, accessibility perspective, etc.), but it's been a long time since I've encountered a consumer level application that did this.